This handbook was originally by Snizor, and since I haven't seen him around in years, and the last known archive of this is all the way back in the BG boards, I'm reviving it.

Mechanomicon

Entry Format:Required level _ Name (book page)Skill Checks: Unless stated otherwise, you must make either of these (crafting) checks, not bothAny other requirements, like a big gemSpells needed in the creation processcost in gp, cost in xp (these are creation costs, not buying cost)

Note that the 3.5 Update Document significantly altered the price of FF and MM2 constructs.

01 Arbalester (MoE 152)DC14 Sculpting/Carpentryarcane eye, mending1250gp 93xpSnizor's Comments: Basically a self-firing light crossbow (can be enhanced as such). Won't be that good at mid/high levels due to: lack of Attack bonus, HPs, and the damage they deal their creator when destroyed.

I like homunculi. Advance them to max HD and hand-pick their skills&feats to make UMD-using turrets. (9 ranks, skill focus and that +2/+2 skill, -1 Cha for 13 ranks. Add a masterwork tool(~300gp) and a +5 magic skill booster and you're there. Total cost under 13 K or so, for an autonomous magic-using flying mind-linked bot. )

05 Alchemy Beetle (SoX 74)DC15 Blacksmithing and Glassblowingfireball4000gp 240xpSnizor's Comments: Not that good. The creation guidelines fail to mention the cost of advancing this construct (despite the advancement entry for this monster), so you're stuck with the weakling version.

05 Clockwork Mender (MM4 30)DC15 Blacksmithingmending, repair light damage1250gp 68xpSnizor's Comments: Too bad you can't craft the swarm version of this creature, which could serve as an out-of-combat repair unit for your other constructs. This version only gives 1d8 points of healing per day.

07 Crawling Claws (LEoF 163)NAanimate dead, cat’s grace, lesser geas9250gp 710xpSnizor's Comments: Well, it's a swarm, but it's a size category too large to be immune to slashing/piercing weapons. Has Blindsight (which can be useful) but will probably die fast.

07 Umbral Spy (The Forge of War 155)DC15 Alchemy and Spellcraftshadow conjuration, speak with dead11000gp 840xpSnizor's Comments: An intelligent incorporeal construct with telepathy (yay Mindsight feat), hide in plain sight, and whose attack deals wisdom damage. Very good choice, made better by the fact that it does list a cost to advance.

08 Brass Steed (HoB 153)DC12 Armorsmithing/weaponsmithinganimate objects, bull’s strength, flame arrow, geas/quest, haste10000gp 720xp Snizor's Comments: A decent mount at the level you get it. However, it doesn't list the cost to advance (despite having an advancement entry in its stat block) so it is less useful after a few levels.

09 Magmacore Golem (MM5 70)DC10 Sculptinganimate objects, commune, lesser planar binding19650gp 1400xpSnizor's Comments: It just doesn't have the combat stats to really do what it was designed to do(worse overall than the Flesh Golem though with Fire/Electicity immunity).

09 Shardsoul Slayer (MM5 149)DC15 Armorsmithinganimate objects, lesser planar binding, shatter41000gp 2800xp (creates 3)Snizor's Comments: Seeing as Wizards forgot to include the costs for creating higher HD versions of this, it really isn't that good. The cost per construct is actually pretty reasonable, but the lack of scaling means that they will be outmatched in combat.

10 Ice Golem (Frostburn 137)DC15 SculptingIce shape, wall of ice, and animate snow and ice or cone of cold32000gp 2320xpSnizor's Comments: Has Improved Grab, but is rather costly compared to other options. Probably not the best use of your money.

11 Clay Golem (MM1 134)DC15 Sculpting/Healanimate objects, commune, resurrection21500gp 1540xpSnizor's Comments: Magic items that eventually turn renegade and try to kill you tend not to be very good.

11 Gloom Golem (MM3 68)DC21 Sculpting AND DC21 Knowledge (the planes)Creator must be evilcrushing despair, limited wish, planar binding, polymorph any object25000gp 1200xpSnizor's Comments: Stats aren't anything special and the Crushing Despair ability will affect you and your allies as well. Not very good.

12 Force Golem (MM5 68)DC20 Armorsmithinganimate objects, contact other plane, lesser planar binding29,250gp 2000xpSnizor's Comments: It terms of stats, this is inferior to the Flesh Golem. The pulse ability is interesting and it is immune to a larger set of spells but I wouldn't spend my money on this.

12 Iron Cobra (FF 103)DC20 Armorsmithing/WeaponsmithingCreator must be able to cast both arcane and divine spellsanimate object, freemdom of movement, geas/quest, locate creature2500gp 80xpSnizor's Comments: Similar to the Adamantine Spider; cheap, but utterly ineffective in combat at the level you can make them. The Locate Creature effect might be useful though

14 Tombstone Golem (LM 105)Same as Stone Golemsame as Stone Golem (but replace Slow with Slay Living)70000gp 5200XPSnizor's Comments: Same as the Stone Golem except it replaces the Slow effect with a Slay Living effect. If the save DC weren't so low, I'd really like this option.

14 Web Golem (MM3 74)DC20 Weaving/Profession (silkmaker)geas/quest, limited wish, poison, polymorph any object, spider climb, web33000gp 2560xpSnizor's Comments: The Adhesive ability is interesting; however, the base version only has 11HD, making it rather fragile to be put on the front lines.

15 Dread Guard (MM2 87)DC25 ArmorsmithingCreator must be able to cast arcane spells and supply a martial weaponfabricate, geas/quest, polymorph any object40000gp 800xpSnizor's Comments: Worthless in 15th lvl combat and way too expensive

15 Helmed Horror (LEoF 175)NAair walk or fly, limited wish, spell turning39150gp xp cost not listedSnizor's Comments: A very good choice. Air Walks, is intelligent (and get skills/feats as appropriate), can see invisible, and has a few, creator-selected, spell immunities. Also wears +3 Full-Plate.

15 Silvereye Marauder (FN 156)DC20 Armorsmithing/BlacksmithingCreator must be a Silver Pyromancer lvl 2 (FN 150)limited wish, major creation, permanency65000gp 4600xpSnizor's Comments: Is intelligent and has pounce and improved grab. Customize its feats and this could be a decent charger. The to-hit mod is a bit low though.

16 Brass Golem (MM2 117)DC25 Armorsmithing AND DC25 WeaponsmithingCreator must be able to cast arcane spellsgeas/quest, limited wish, maze, Mordenkainen’s sword, polymorph any object33820gp 2247xpSnizor's Comments: The 3.5 Update document makes the price very low, considering that the +3 wounding weapon it comes makes up about 25,000gp of the creation cost. The body is pretty good for the price tag, being superior to the higher costed Flesh Golem.

16 Hangman Golem (MM3 69)DC20 Weaving (5 or more ranks in Use Rope gives a +2 bonus)animate rope, geas/quest, limited wish, polymorph any object72625gp 5710xpSnizor's Comments: Meant to be a grapple-bot (Constrict, Improved Grab, Strangle), but has a rather low grapple mod (+25). Having Immunity to Magic (immunity to most buff spells) means that this problem is harder to fix.

16 Runic Guardian (MM2 182) DC20 Profession(engineer)/Sculpting AND DC15 Metalworking“limited wish, discern location, shield, shield other” + Spells that construct is imbued with97500gp 6600xpThe lab where the Runic Guardian is awakened, costs 2000gp to establish, instead of the normal 500gpNote: The description lists neither spells nor xp cost, so I’ve taken the spells from Shield Guardian (MM1 223) as it says the processes are nearly identical.Snizor's Comments: A Suped-up Shield Guardian with a better version of Shield other (soaks up 75% of the damage) and has a few, creator-chosen, SLAs. Stunning Strike isn't bad, thought the Guardians to-hit (+18) is a bit low.

16 Slaughterstone Eviscerator (MM3 160)DC20 Sculpting/StonemasonryCreator must supply 4 large +2 adamantine greatswordskeen edge, geas/quest, haste, stoneskin67500gp 4800xpSnizor's Comments: Notable for being able to move 15ft and still make a full-attack.

16 Wicker Man (FF 188)DC15 Alchemy AND DC17 WoodworkingCreator must be able to cast divine spellsentangle, liveoak, protection from energy48000gp 1080xpSnizor's Comments: For a creature intended to function as a big stupid fighter, this creature has pretty aweful stats.

17 Prismatic Golem (MM3 71)DC22 Sculpting AND DC22 Knowledge (the planes)Creator must be goodgreater planar binding, polymorph any object, prismatic sphere, wish150000gp 8000xpSnizor's Comments: An Incorporeal construct. Has some formidable defenses, but has a rather weak offense. Being incorporeal can auto-win some fights, but I'm not sure that it is worth the hefty price-tag.

17 Shadesteel Golem (MM3 72)DC30 Armorsmithingenergy drain, geas/quest, limited wish, polymorph any object, shades70000gp 4800xpSnizor's Comments: This is for any necromancers who don't rely on rebuking to control their undead.

18 Nimblewright (MM2 162)DC16 Sculpting/Profession (mason)Creator must be able to cast arcane spellsgeas/quest, haste, limited wish, polymorph any object18500gp 580xpSnizor's Comments: If this listed a cost to advance, it would be very good. Intelligent (with 2 bonus feats as well), has decent buff SLAs, and the special attacks are nice. Without advancement rules though, the Nimblewright's 10hd just won't cut it.

19 Grisgol (MM3 76)DC25 BookbindingCreator must capture and supply a lich’s phylactery. He must destroy the lich, and finalize the Grisgol before the lich returns.See description for extra costs.control undead, geas/quest, illusory script, insanity, limited wish, mending, polymorph any object, plus all spells to be included in the Grisgol, see desc.110000gp 8000xpSnizor's Comments: NOT for melee combat, despite some of the lich-esque touch abilities. The selectable SLAs (one per spell level. Each usable 1/day) are really the only reason to make this, and the added cost to create for giving it spells with expensive material components/XP makes even that hard to really abuse.

20 Blackstone Gigant (FF 21)DC25 Sculpting/StonemasonryCreator must be able to cast divine spellsanimate objects, flesh to stone, geas/quest, miracle105,000gp, 7800xpSnizor's Comments: Nice attack routine (4 Slams with +38 to-hit, each with a flesh to stone effect), is intelligent, good movement modes (fly, climb, and land), and has a decent AC (+27 Natural Armor). A bit late in the game, but decent in its own right.

Effigy Creature (CA 151)DC15 Woodworking/Leatherworking/Metalworking/Know: Architecture and Engineering.CL must be greater than or equal to HD of Effigy.No specified spellsCost of body (varies)+1,000gp per HD, 80XP per HD.Snizor's Comments: The fact that this is a template gives you a large amount of versatility when it comes to making them. Even ignoring the template-stacking shenanigans of Mr. Roboto, this template is a very solid way to craft constructs.Nyte's Notes: A Rukanyr (from the Fiend Folio) has only 7HD, +15(!) natural armor, and has TEN natural attacks. It can be upgraded all the way to 14HD without changing size categories.

Elder Eidolon (LoM 146)Dc25 Sculpting/Sonemasonryminimum CL equal to HDno specified spellsCost of Body (Varies)+3,000gp per HD, 240XP per HDSnizor's Comments: Similar to the Effigy template. Is a stronger template, but costs 3 times as much (not counting the body cost, which is identical) as the Effigy. Extra benefits include: Immunity to Magic, Fast Repair (healing), and a Deflection bonus to AC.Nyte's Notes:Remember that Rukanyr? Let's give it +4 Deflection to AC and an insanity aura.

11 Sacred Guardian (Bestiary of Krynn 91)DC15 Sculpting and DC 20 Knowledge (Religion).Creator must be a cleric with access to tha domain the sacred guardian will be dedicated to.animate objects, commune+500gp per size category, +80xp per size category.Snizor's Comments: This makes your construct intelligent (which is a VERY good thing) and some other nice benefits (Fast Healing) on the side. Many DMs probably won't allow it due to where it's from; however, if your DM does allow this template, then by all means USE it!

Universal Key:CL: 5th; Craft Construct, knock, heat metal; Price 2,400 gp; Cost 1,200 gp + 96 XP.Snizor's Comments: Very nice. Not only does it do the job that you would expect it to do (removes the hinges/latches/etc. off a door), but also has plenty of other innovative uses.

Artificer Infusions: Here’s a list of infusions that are are useful for non-warforged constructs. Unless otherwise noted, these infusions come from the Eberron Campaign Setting. Level is in ()(An * means that it doesn’t bypass a Golems Immunity to Magic)

Melee (Charger): Pretty Self-Explanatory. Recklessly charge at your opponent using Shocktrooper and Leap Attack for major bonus damage. A THW would be best for this combat style (which THW will probably depend on which construct you use because constructs are only proficient in the weapon(s) mentioned in their entry).

Power AttackImproved Bull RushLeap Attack (CAdv) Might be hard to qualify for due to skill requisitesShocktrooper (CW)

Melee (Lockdown AoO): Uses Stand Still, Combat Reflexes, and Thicket of Blades to keep enemy from reaching the party. A Skillful (CA, provides proficiency in the weapon) Spiked Chain would be a useful weapon for this type of combat.

Scouting/Spying: The best intelligent construct for this purpose is the Umbral Spy (the Forge of War) due to it having Hide in Plain Sight, being Incorporeal, have Telepathy, and the Thought Link ability. The Furtive Filcher (Eberron Campaign Setting) is probably runner up due to the high hide mod for it's price.

Other Feats:Martial Study/Stance (ToB)- The Shadow Jaunt/Stride line provides a teleportation effect useful for almost any construct. If your construct ever gets to 36 HD (technically 34, but it doesn't get a feat till 36), it would meet the initiator level requirement for a ninth level maneuver.

Skill Focus: Use Magic Device- Use Magic Device and a wand (or 3 with a Rod of Many Rods from CM) can turn your construct into a turret. Since UMD is almost always a cross-class skill for constructs and their Cha scores tend to be low, Skill Focus can actually prove useful.

Making Your Constructs Better

Quote from: Manic Man

Making your constructs better (much of it applies to undead, elemental companions and such as well)

ArmorThe penalty for not having the correct armor proficiency is a penalty = armor check penalty to hit and movement skills. The skills penalty is trivial but having a massive to hit penalty would suck, so make sure you have a ~0 armor check penalty.

At the cheapest level, this is using masterwork studded armor (175gp) for +3 armor bonus. Scale it up to huge and its a x4 cost for humanoid. At the worst case, if your DM calculates masterwork as 175 x 4, it still a very cheap 700gp

Add armor enhancements next. Armor is relatively cheap to enhance at the lower tiers and all armor enhancements that do not require activation are open to you. If you have magic vestment, you don't need a big +x to armor. That additional cost for those pluses can be better spent

When you come into money, you don't have to stay with masterwork studded leather because, really, it sucks. So what armor is better? There's the various scenerios depending on what books you can use and what you can afford

i) Mithral (Lowers armor check by 3)+5 AC, 0 armor checkMithral Serpentscale from Serpent Kingdoms (Faerun)Mithral Sectioned (part) from Planar Handbook (your DM may force you to make it whole, see the item description for explainations)

ShieldsIf you're into shields, you can use the same principle as the penalty for non-proficiency is the same. However most shields are very costly when used with mithril, so it is better to use darkwood and apply it to a wooden shield instead.

This gives you a simple huge sized darkwood shield for a shield bonus of +2 for 670. You can then thrown on magical shield abilities and magic vestment it.

WeaponsGolems almost universally do not have proficiency in weapons. However that does not mean you cannot enhance him.

When you're poor, use a masterwork gauntlet (not the spiked one). That gives a +1 to hit for 302 gp, x4 for huge ~1208 gp or 308gp depending on how your DM calculates it. The gauntlet is the opening you need to start applying magical enhancements (greater magic weapon as well).

When you have more money, use the Skillful enhancement from Complete Arcane. At +2 it looks pretty expensive. However apply it to the following weapons and you have a golem that just doubled it reach without affecting its ability to attack adjacent targetsSpinning Sword (Secrets of Sarlona) (Better crit range than kusari-gama, Can use shields)Kusari-gama (DMG)(Can use shields)Spiked chain (PHB)(Higher damage, no shields)

For pure damage, you can use the Warmace (PHB upsized to Huge) and you can still use a shield.

If you're not into shields or want the 1.5 x strength damage bonus, the following are 2 handed d12 (base) weaponsGreat falchion (Sandstorm, good crit range)Greataxe (PHB)Greathammer, goliath (Races of stone, Bludgeoning weapon damage, big crits)Longaxe (Complete Adventurer, not useful without power attack)

SpellsMake your golem wear a skull on its head. Then cast Skull Watch. Make sure he walks in front as he's not affected by the deafening

If your construct is magic immune (ie, infinite SR), put Explosive runes (as many as possible) everywhere on your construct. Get someone to read it as needed or simply let the enemy read it.

If your construct is healed by fire or if you simply want fire damage in a 5' radius, put a fire trap on its mouth. Ask it to open its mouth when needed

Greater and normal Glyphs of warding work as well. Just glue a lot of boxes to your construct, glyph all of them and get your construct to open them. Use blast glyphs for healing and spell glyphs for area effects like clouds or mists. This can get expensive due to the material component though

Symbols work great, especially permanent symbols as the construct is immune to it. Put one on him or on his armor or such and get him to walk in front (especially if you already have skull watch on). Sit back and enjoy the show

Permanency can also be used with shrink item but is subject to whether you DM allows it. Prior to animation, you can place "Shrink item" on the golem. If he still has it on when he's animated, you can shrink and carry your golem very easily if you're using the cloth form.

MiscellaneousThe following may or may not work, depending on your DM and even if it works, for some of these, don't take your construct to town

Stuff his armor with smokesticks. Wait for him to light upGive your golem a duplicate of your own head, especially for flesh golems.Wrap it up in bandages so it looks like a mummy. Wait for him to be turned then laughMake people think its not the correct golem type (eg. paint a iron golem with rock colors)Hollow out your construct's head and stick your familiar in it if it can speak. Tell your construct to obey the familiar and you've got a semi intelligent constructCover the whole thing in contact poisonGrow yellow mold or green slime on itFor added kick, tie a thunderstone to each of the gauntlets.

Ask your DM about combining construct in the same manner of magical items. If you can, then some of these constructs get absolutely bonkers. If your DM has any sanity at all, he will at LEAST keep things from stacking, but it still means you can do things like add immunities and intelligence from a helmed horror to your dumb but deadly deathbot.